


Drawn Part 2

by Fai_Gensou



Series: Drawn [2]
Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: F/M, same story different link
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-10-07 02:28:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17357195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fai_Gensou/pseuds/Fai_Gensou
Summary: It’s not just the present generation of dragons who are drawn to Yona…...and Hiryuu is closer to the surface than anyone guessedCOSMETIC DIVISION ONLY SO NEW READERS DON'T FAINT AT A 3 DIGIT CHAPTER COUNT





	1. Chapter 78

“Oh glorious sight! The Four Dragon Warriors united with their master!” Ku-jan sobbed, his clansmen joining in.

The Seiryuu clansmen edged away, emitting an aura of ‘I don’t know these crazy people.’ “Seiryuu-Shin-ah-sama.” The headman’s eldest son greeted with a bow, much to Shin-ah’s shock, unseen though it was as he nodded in response.

“SEND A RUNNER AHEAD!!! FEAST TONIGHT!!!” Ku-jan roared, one Hakuryuu villager quacking bowing before darting ahead, Ku-jan and the headman’s eldest son (whose name, they learned, was Ren, as the name ‘Abi’ would only pass to him upon his father’s death) escorting the group to the village while everyone else returned to patrol.

* * *

If the crowd that had surrounded Yona when they spotted her crimson hair that first visit had been excited, then the crowd that surrounded the Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch was ecstatic. It turned out that, while the Hakuryuu villagers would protest and say that their favorite Dragon Warrior was their own, each warrior had their followers. The crowds around everyone were dotted with the more open-minded members of Seiryuu Village/Clan, the largest amount around Shin-ah, leaving the moon utterly baffled. Yona once again ended up in Hak’s arms to avoid being crushed, while Zeno crawled up onto Jaeha’s back to avoid his fans, much to Jaeha’s dismay. Even Yun had a small group around him, mostly male.

Then someone asked Kaya who she was. “I’m Zeno’s wife, Ka—“

A squeal resonated through the women in the crowd, who now all crowded around Kaya, clambering to learn what it was like to be married to a Dragon Warrior. Zeno abandoned his perch to support Kaya, who was overwhelmed at the attention.

Baa-Baa and Headman Abi were past the edge of the crowd when Hak (still carrying Yona), Kija, and Shin-ah managed to escape the crush of people. “Hime-sama.” Baa-Baa greeted Yona as she led the way into her meeting room, Hak standing guard at the entrance.

“While your visit is not unwelcome, may I inquire as to the reason for it?” Baa-Baa asked formally once everyone was settled.

“We’ve found something important.” At that Yona slid the stone box forward.

Headman Abi’s eyes widened when he saw the seal engraved on the lid, the paint on it still bright after centuries underground. “That’s…” He reached out with a slightly trembling hand to trace it.

“We haven’t tried opening it, but I saw it contains the village’s history, genealogies, and a list of the Seiryuu up to the time that the location we found it at was abandoned.”

Guilt stabbed at Headman Abi’s heart when it took him a moment to realize that it was his grandson speaking. He had spent enough time with Baa-Baa to be able to quietly admit that, if only to himself.

“Where we found this…was where the Dragon’s Eyes first became a curse.” Shin-ah revealed.

“It started seventeen generations ago, in the time of Seiryuu Soren. Bandits attacked, and while Soren acted as bait, to lure and trap the bandits in the tunnels under the village, the other villagers fled, with Soren’s lover and his son and successor as Seiryuu, Ren-so, among them.” Yona spoke calmly as she related the tale. “He would have been used as bait regardless, with his successor having been born, but…he died in the tunnels with the bandits.”

“How?” Baa-Baa asked.

“A combination of injuries he sustained during the fight and the paralysis backlashing onto him. The backlash meant that he was unable to leave and get his wounds treated.” Yona said quietly. “Ren-so was the last Seiryuu to be properly named in life, until Shin-ah.”

“…the longer he spent in the darkness he had lived and died in, the more bitter he had become, and the angrier. All of those dark feelings building over the generations as the souls of his successors joined him in death, latching onto the power of the Dragon’s Eyes itself. When we found the village site, and I felt that darkness trapped there…I wanted to help them find a way out, like how Yona helped me…” Shin-ah explained, tense and not even trying to look Baa-Baa and Headman Abi in the eye, despite them not being able to see where his eyes were looking.

“With Shin-ah giving them a voice, I was able to help them finally move on.” Yona pulled out a slip of paper and set it on top of the stone box. “This is the list of what I named them, so that the list of Seiryuu can be properly updated once you’ve determined the best way to open the box and copy the documents.”

The sound of Baa-Baa’s and Yona-hime-sama’s conversation seemed to fade away as Headman Abi considered the sheet of paper. It didn’t only have the names the princess had given the nameless Seiryuu; it also had the names of their parents. It was less of a surprise than it perhaps should have been to see his parents’ names listed with the Seiryuu before his son. Kentaro. _No wonder it felt like I was missing a sibling; that I had a younger brother as well as a younger sister._

Taking a deep breath, Headman Abi bowed to Seiryuu Shin-ah. “Thank you for finding and returning our history to us, grandson.” He said.

 _…crap, how would Yona respond?_ Shin-ah thought briefly. Slowly, he pushed his mask on to the top of his head, and bowed as well. “The clan cannot move forward into the light if we do not know what not to repeat…grandfather.” The word felt strange in his mouth; intellectually he knew that he had parents and grandparents, maybe cousins and siblings as well, but the concept always felt like it belonged to other people.

Not to a curse like him.

 _…but I’m not really a curse anymore, am I?_ Shin-ah had a slight smile on his face as he and his grandfather (!) straightened out of their bows. While he didn’t meet his eyes, he was looking at his uncovered face, which was more than Shin-ah had ever dared to dream of receiving from his clan.

* * *

Yona sat down under the tree Shin-ah was hiding in. Between the Hakuryuu clan’s adoration and his own clan’s neutral politeness (crossing into fascination for the youngest ones), he’d had enough of people, fleeing the feast as soon as he could. Seating had been a great deal easier compared to the last visit, even with more people; she just mimicked the arrangement him-her had, with her Consort and her Advisor to her immediate right and left, with Kija and Jaeha next to Hak on the right, and Shin-ah and Zeno (and Kaya) next to Yun on the left.

There was the jingle of bells, and Yona turned, half-expecting to see Shin-ah, despite not having heard the bells since they met.

It was a young woman. Yona thought she was a daughter-in-law of Headman Abi, the sound coming from the baby sling. “Hime-sama.” She greeted politely with a bow.

“You can just call me Yona. There’s not much point in standing on ceremony.” Yona replied as she sat down.

“Perhaps. But that’s what I’ve named this little one.”

Yona blinked as her company undid the sling, revealing a baby only a few months old. Free of her confines, she stretched, yawning before sticking a fist in her mouth. “She’s adorable.” Yona commented, trailing a finger over the fist not in the baby’s mouth.

Her mother handed her over, bells jingling in the handover.

There was a note of curiosity from the moon about the baby. “Have you seen Seiryuu-Shin-ah-sama?” The mother asked. “Father-in-law won’t say just who his closest blood kin is, but I have a feeling that the relation is fairly close, between her and him.”

Shin-ah shifted, sliding out of the tree. While Yona didn’t jump when he landed, the other woman couldn’t contain it. Sitting down himself, he leaned in to see the baby better.

“Would you like to hold her?” Yona asked gently, glancing at the mother, who nodded. _If I hold her too long, I might keep her._

He went rigid, and Yona just knew he had a startled look on his face. The bells jingled softly as baby Yona was passed to Shin-ah, Yona and her mother guiding him in the correct way to hold her.

Baby Yona studied this new person. Deciding she liked him, she smiled around her fist, making a noise. Poor Shin-ah went even more rigid at the noise. “I—“ His mouth snapped shut.

“I think she likes you. If she didn’t, she’d let you know by screaming her head off.” The mother assured him. Maybe it’s the new attitude of the clan, or because I’m actually interacting with him, but he’s not arrogant at all; just very shy. She thought.

Shin-ah noticed the bells. “…I wondered…” He said.

“When we left the tunnels and set out here, I had to stop briefly, for morning sickness. I saw them near my feet when I was done. Do you want them back?” She asked.

After a long moment Shin-ah shook his head. “…no. I don’t need them, now that someone found me.” He said quietly, Ao leaping over to look at the baby herself.

Ao couldn’t recall seeing a human this small before. Done with her examination, she ran off to beg more food out of the villagers.

* * *

Jaeha sighed from his perch. Once he’d worked through his amazement (and the feast) at a village that saw their dragon as a good thing, and a village working to change their attitude, the adoration and neutral politeness grated.

All he knew of his own village and clan was the glimpses during escape attempts and Garou, who was not a neutral party. Yanking his ribbon out, he started braiding and unbraiding locks of hair, a safer alternative to knife fiddling the captain had taught him. “I know that a past Ryokuryuu was observed, which is why we were chained, but that can’t have been the first time.” He muttered. “And the elders were always annoyed about feeding us. Feeding Garou, since he was a stubborn bastard who wouldn’t die. Plus, judging by the archers, they were willing to kill us to keep the secret, if they had to.”

“It’s a fucking cycle.” Jaeha looked at his ancestor, whose name, apparently, was Shuten, too curious to scowl at him.

Not to mention he was impossible to ignore or avoid now, between Yona-chan and Zeno.

“One gets spotted like a fucking idiot, the village gets attacked, people die and get uprooted, so they break out the chains, for a few generations at least, until the panic and anger fade, and they ditch the chains. Or one dies from something like a fire or flood.” Shuten’s fists were clenched on his spear, knuckles white. “They threw a festival, the first time that happened. They fucking celebrated the death of a Ryokuryuu when no successor had been born. Joke was on them, as the first baby born afterwards was a Ryokuryuu.”

Shuten ran a hand through his hair, yanking out the tie to his own ponytail. “The village isn’t just my descendants; it’s also the descendants of my fellow slaves turned mercenaries. I just wish I knew where everything went wrong.”

“…is there anyone or anything in the village worth saving?” Jaeha found himself asking.

“Just the kids. But while they’re worth saving, I don’t know how to get the kids out without slaughtering the adults.” Shuten yanked on his unbound ponytail.

Jaeha had taken one of the jugs of sake up the tree with him. Silently, he held the jug out for Shuten to drink, a quiet olive branch. He studiously didn’t look at Shuten’s stunned face as he plucked the bottle from his hand, took a swig, and returned it. “So you can drink, but not eat?” Jaeha asked, around the fifth exchange of the bottle.

“Yeah. No fucking clue why though. I think it was explained to me once, but I don’t remember the explanation.” Shuten answered with a shrug.

* * *

It wasn’t until the pre-dawn hours that the feast finally ended and the village quieted. Reluctantly leaving Kaya asleep in their room, Zeno made his way to the Tomb of Hakuryuu, bottle of sake in hand. “Why are you doing this? It’s not as if…” Guen trailed off, not quite willing to voice the second part.

“It’s like with the Miss; she didn’t have to acknowledge the sorrow and longing, but she still did.” Zeno explained.

There was a smallish offering niche carved into the rock next to the door. Setting the sake carefully in the niche, Zeno backed up a couple of steps. Bowing low at the waist, he left behind his apology for the promise left unfulfilled.

* * *

“Are you alright Jaeha?” Yona asked as they gathered firewood, two days after the feast in Hakuryuu/Seiryuu Village.

They were wandering south, with no real destination in mind beyond a market half a day’s walk from Kuuto. Yun was mainly after more cloth for spare clothes, and this market happened to have the biggest selection of cloth in the country, outside the castle’s sewing offices.

The cat was off balance inside. “You seem…moody.”

He sighed, wondering if it was worth denying his mood and the reasons behind it. He had hardly begun trying to figure out how to deflect attention when she asked, “Was it visiting Hakuryuu Village?”

“…it hit me, how little I really know about my own village.” He admitted, snapping the twigs of kindling in his hands. “They call themselves ‘Ryokuryuu Village’, yet…”

Setting down her bundle, she hugged him from behind. “I have words for them, as do the others, but if you want to stay away, then we will. Besides,” She let go, circling around to be face to face with him. “Green Brother has told him-me and dragon-us that the next Ryokuryuu will be your direct descendant. There will never be another Ryokuryuu born in Ryokuryuu Village.”

This last statement had all the force of a formal decree, edged with otherworldly force.

Nodding, he returned to gathering firewood.

“I don’t regret killing Yan Kum-ji or Kan Su-jin, but I do regret that it became necessary. If action had been taken against them sooner, they could have been stopped without killing them. When all is said and done, your lives and your safety is more important to me than the lives of people trying to hurt you. I don’t seek their deaths, but I will not hesitate to end their lives to save all of you. I don’t expect you do the same, any of you.” She said suddenly, as they started back to camp.

“…the captain told me, that just as I am the only one who can chose who to die for, I’m the only one to decide who to kill for. I suppose, that what bothers me more is that it’s easier than I would think, killing to protect all of you.” He told her. “Trust me, killing for you, to protect you and the others…that’s my choice.”

* * *

Kalgan sighed as he skipped stones around the water, watching the opposite bank. He was still distracted by what had happened, when Yona and her friends helped him.

Somehow, his whole village, to a man, kept the strange apparition that appeared when his father asked Yona why she and the others had protected them to themselves. With Yona’s telling of Kouka’s birth myth ringing in his ears, he hadn’t needed the breathless whispers of the adults to tell him who they thought the apparition was.

Who he knew it was.

Learning that the ‘mythical’ Hiryuu-ou was real, and had been reborn was one thing.

It was another to learn just who Yona really was.

It had been earlier that day, when he had finally been able to go and see if the old guy running the apothecary had made it through the attack. The old man had, and it had been on his way out of the village that the conversation of a group of men caught his attention. “…I’m telling you, they’re still alive! And behind that new grain in Fire!”

It was trader from across the river. With Kin once again a part of Kouka, there was free trade and travel across the river, instead of it being limited to those few who could pay enough. “Yeah, well, if they ARE alive, why haven’t they gone back to Hiryuu Castle? Or has there been any decree?” One man with a receding hairline (made worse by its light brown color) questioned.

“Huh? Who’s they?” Kalgan asked.

“The Crown Princess Yona and her guard, the previous General of Wind, Son Hak.” The trader answered. “The night her father, the old King Il, was killed, both of them disappeared. Word is that he killed her, but I’m not buying that.”

“How come?” A younger guy with his arm in a sling asked.

“My sister’s a maid in the castle. The only thing stronger than General Hak’s loyalty to King Il, was his devotion to the Princess. No way he’d kill either of them; he’d sooner kill himself than harm either of them, according to my sister.” The trader explained.  
   
“What’s this about a new grain in Fire? I heard that things are getting better…” The first man remarked.

“It’s called Iza. King Su-won got it from the town he demanded from Li Hazara after the battle where the old Fire General was killed, but Katan Village had already gotten some before that. There was this crazy group of bandits, the Famished Family or something, that had a woman leading it. They would attack officials after they collected taxes and then return the whole lot to the village it came from. But apparently the second son Kan Tae-Jun was convinced to make things better by the woman leader, and they went looking for a crop that could grow in the famine areas.”

“What kind of bandits would have a woman as the leader?! Never mind a name like that!” A elderly man leaning on a cane complained.

“Strong ones.” The trader replied.

“So why you saying the Princess and her guard are behind all of that?” The first man questioned.

“Because!” The trader held a finger in the air. “The woman bandit leader had crimson hair—the same color as the Princess’s hair!”

“Princess Yona has crimson hair?!” Kalgan exclaimed. _Wait a sec, then is Yona—_

“Yep. When she was born, the priests had been saying that she was the reincarnation of Hiryuu-ou, before Prince Yuhon kicked them out. Now, what are the chances of a crimson-haired woman popping up in Fire after the Princess disappeared? Plus there’s the rest of the bandits in the gang.” The trader continued. “Not only was there a guy wielding a weapon a lot like General Hak’s signature weapon, there’s one who could leap over people’s heads and rain death upon them, and another with a ghastly hand that grew in size…”

Kalgan wandered away, his mind racing.

“What would the odds be, of there being two crimson haired women named Yona?” Kalgan asked himself. “Kija DID call Yona ‘Hime-sama’, which is what you’re supposed to call a princess…And her fiancé is named ‘Hak’…don’t tell me I demanded the Crown Princess of Kouka to marry me…” His face flushed as he remembered that.

Standing up, he stretched. “Princess or not, she was really cool. I hope I get to see her and her guys again, someday…”


	2. Chapter 79

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (bows to readers) I'm sorry it's taken so long!

Zeno watched Kaya do laps of the shop, trailing a hand over the different fabrics, relishing in the textures. The miracle of her revival was still new enough for him to spend his waking hours hovering, close enough to touch and reassure himself that she was alive again.

And at night? Not a chance.

She kept going back to one particular dress, in a blue that he felt would compliment his own orange coat which, between the Miss and the Lad, had been saved. “Do you want to get that one? Zeno can go beg the lad—“

“No,” She cut him off, shaking her head. “I’m fine with what we’re making out of the cloth we got at the cloth market.”

The cloth she was referring to was a sturdy and practical dark brown. “Even if this blue is utterly gorgeous and soft—“

“Then why don’t you let your big sisters buy it?” Tetora said as she and Ayura approached.

“Tetora-san! Ayura-san!” Kaya exclaimed as each put a hand on her shoulder.

They exchanged startled looks when they both encountered warm and solid cloth and flesh. “So shoo, Mr. Husband, and let us wow you.” Ayura told Zeno. The question of just how Kaya was alive when she and Tetora had both seen her as a ghost could wait until a place with less ears.

Not to mention, the only thing she liked as much as, if not more than, fighting was dressing up people, and here was a fresh blank slate!

“You go on ahead Zeno, and let the others know Ayura-san and Tetora-san are here.” Kaya assured him.

“Okay…” Reluctantly, Zeno left.

“…was he pouting?” Ayura asked as she and Tetora ushered Kaya into the corner by the underclothes.

“We haven’t gone very far from each other, except for one time to test, since I came back.” Kaya explained in a low voice. “I’m not constrained to a certain limit, like before, but we’re still having trouble processing it.” She twiddled her index fingers. “So both of us have generally stayed in touching distance.”

“At night as well?” Tetora asked, eyeing Kaya’s form before digging through the underclothes.

Kaya just gave her a flat look. “We’re essentially seventeen in body, no matter the true count of years we’ve seen. Take a guess.”

“So he’d enjoy it if we surprised him with this?” Ayura asked, pulling out a tiny under robe, made of cream colored silk gauze and that would only barely touch the top of her thighs.

“NEE-SAN!!!” Kaya yelled, somehow flushing an even deeper red when she realized the under robe would only barely cover her chest as well.

* * *

Hak woke up as something slipped over his head. “Happy Birthday.”

“Hm?” Waking up more, he saw that what had been slipped over his head was a piece of blue stone, at the end of a cord of braided red and black leather.

“It’s lapis lazuli.” She said as she sat down next to him on the bench. “It’s supposed to have protective and healing properties. And,” Picking it up, she furrowed her brow and he could tell she was doing something with her fire. “It seems like it holds my fire easily.”

The stone grew warm, and the color shifted closer to purple. “You didn’t have to get me anything for my birthday; I didn’t get you anything.” He half-protested.

“I wanted to get you something.” She replied, slipping under his arm so it was slung across her shoulders. “It was a little surprising, seeing you look so relaxed in sleep. In the middle of the day, in the middle of a town.”

“I trust them.” He admitted quietly. “Maybe even more than…because we’ve fought together, and I know their devotion to you equals mine.”

She frowned slightly at the downturn in mood. An idea hit, and she started tickling the one ticklish spot she knew he had, making him jump, even as he laughed and returned the favor.

* * *

Kija watched his master and her consort laughing, and smiled to himself. “Having fun watching the love birds?” Jaeha asked, slinging an arm around his shoulders.

“This is the first time I can recall seeing either of them so…at ease.” Kija replied. “Not that I really noticed, until that tension was gone. They’re like any other young couple. I find myself hoping to find someone with whom I can be so at ease with.”

“You’ve got like half a village of women back home tossing themselves at you; why not one of them?” Jaeha asked.

“But I can’t see myself at ease with any of them. And I know they are mainly interested in the prestige of being my wife, and perhaps the mother of my heir. That’s why Baa-Baa is so well regarded, beyond reaching her hundredth year.”

“Oh?”

“She married my great grandfather, and bore his heir and a daughter before his power passed to the next generation. In the stories she’s told of him, it seems like she loved him for him as a person, but then again, she had been the daughter of his wet nurse.” Kija looked down. “There’s no one I’m really close to in the village, male or female, so even though it’s my duty…I can’t see myself with any of them.”

“The fact that you’ve never pictured yourself with a woman before Yona-chan notwithstanding?” Jaeha asked in a low voice, reflecting back on some of what Kija had said in their late night talks.

Kija nodded. “It’s a little strange, but…I don’t find myself jealous of Hak very much anymore. I mean, that’s not to say that if there was a chance—“

“You and me both.” Jaeha cut him off. “Even with the implication of a two for one.”

Kija flushed, before coughing. “Maybe this is what Zeno meant, about the difference between being in love with Hime-sama and loving her.” Kija added as Zeno came over, pouting. “Where’s Kaya?”

“Miss Lili’s guards are in town. Kaya had been eyeing some things in the shop, so Zeno was going to beg the lad for some money, but Miss Ayura and Miss Tetora kicked me out and said to wait to be surprised.” Zeno complained. “Zeno wonders what trouble Miss Lili is getting into this time.”

“Why do you think she’s in trouble?” Jaeha asked.

“Why else would Ayura and Tetora seek us out?” Yun questioned, having finished his window shopping and walked over.

* * *

Kaya was blushing as she returned to the others, flanked by Ayura and Tetora. The dress came with a darker blue underdress, and she had picked a sash in the same green as Zeno’s scarves.

Aside from the embarrassing questions (in public!) about her married life, she was blushing as much because of the item she carefully hid in her dress. Seeing Zeno’s eyes grow wide and his mouth drop open made the embarrassment worth it.

“Hi Ayura-chan, Tetoraa-chan.” Jaeha greeted, the others echoing him. “Lili-chan in trouble?”

“Not yet, anyway…” Tetora conceded. “We’ve brought wine as a gift, so let’s find a spot where we can talk.”

* * *

In a garden at the edge of the city, the Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch settled down as Ayura and Tetora served the wine. “I didn’t fully realize how good your contacts were; if you got ahold of this wine…” Yona wondered, daintily sipping her wine, a red one that even in the castle, was only for major events, like weddings. “I’m guessing that since Lili’s dealt with the coastal trade, the problem now is the interior one.”

Ayura nodded. “We’re not sure exactly how it’s entering the country just that it’s coming from Sei. And the reports of people vanishing.”

“People have been vanishing for years. Most people haven’t cared since a lot of them were Nadai addicts.” Zeno commented. “Zeno’s gut says that Sei is involved but he’s not sure how.”

“So Lili wants to go into Sei, and you either want us to try and talk her out of it, or go with her.” Yona noted. “But I doubt it’s the former.”

Ayura nodded. “Stopping Lili-sama has never been easy, but now it’s beyond just the two of us.”

“Did you really think we’d say no?” Yona asked with a smile.

“Not really, but seeing this one eyeing the clothes, we just had to make sure she complimented her husband.” Tetora said, hugging on Kaya, whose new clothes went very well with Zeno’s.

* * *

Lili just stared, bug-eyed, at the group Ayura and Tetora stepped aside revealed. “What is this?!” She demanded.

“Now that’s a touch rude. They expressed interest in your activities when we ran into them, so we brought them along.” Tetora said mildly.

“But there’s no reason for them to be here; I’m going to Sei—“

“Which is exactly why we asked them to come.” Ayura cut in, waving a finger. “Even though I know you’ll say it’s just a Water Tribe problem, none of the soldiers can enter another country, and even with Yun-kun’s miracle salve, Tetora isn’t fully healed.” She pointed out, as Yona walked over from the pond.

“Lili, even just you crossing the border by yourself is iffy, since you’re the daughter of a General.” Yona said with a frown, having prepared her arguments on the way.

“Huh? How come?” Lili asked, confused.

“You’re your father’s deputy if he were to become unable to discharge his duties as General for any reason, especially in lack of a named heir for the position. You exist in a grey area, legally. Sei could claim you were leading a reconnaissance party in prequel to invasion, while we could claim that you were simply traveling for pleasure. It’s a legal problem that hasn’t been settled, and frankly, not worth the trouble.” Yona explained.

“But,” She raised a finger cutting off Lili’s protest. “If I go with you, then you’ll have diplomatic immunity. As Crown Princess I can have up to ten people travelling with me, no matter who they are. International courtesy technically says I have to inform the Sei government of my movements, but that only applies if I’m travelling with a military officer of the rank of captain or higher.”

“So you’ll go with me?!” Lili eagerly asked.

“Of course, we’re friends.” Yona assured her, managing not to laugh as Lili started crying, complaining about how it was supposed to her turn to help Yona. “And who says we’re keeping score?”

Oddly enough, this didn’t make Lili feel better. “Plus,” Yona added over dinner. “Zeno and I have been tracking the disappearances for years. By all accounts, they’re increasing, and no longer is it just addicts vanishing. If Sei’s government or military is responsible, they likely have the impression that Kouka will do nothing to stop them, so they’re becoming bolder. That cannot stand.” Lili had that sense of genuine power from Yona again. “This is likely me worrying unnecessarily, but given how relations of all kinds have been cut off with Xing since the last war, the possibility of collusion between them and Sei cannot be discounted. I doubt the people behind the disappearances care, but if I’m remembering my chart right, there’s been at least four people from the other Tribes taken, along with the majority from Water. Anymore and it becomes a problem for the kingdom, not just the Water Tribe.”

“It’s more like six people from each of the other Tribes, except Wind, which is over ten.” Zeno corrected.

“Going off the merchants who cannot be located, it’s more like fifteen people, if none of them simply became injured in a place too isolated for them to find help.” Hak said, shaking his head.

“So please, don’t worry about us helping you. Let’s focus on stopping the people responsible and finding the missing. If us helping still bothers you so much afterwards, then just take us to another hot spring.” Yona told Lili, who was a little dazed at how big the problem had grown.

“Thank you, for helping Lili-sama.” Tetora thanked Yona quietly. “It should be me, helping her with everything I have, but…” Her hand went to her waist, and the wound from Hiyou.

“You can still help her, and us.” Yona assured her. “If something goes wrong, it’ll be up to you to get help, from the generals…and Su-won.”

“Is it safe, to…” Tetora had no idea the reasons why the Crown Princess was travelling the kingdom incognito (even if she wasn’t trying very hard), but Lili-sama had told her and Ayura that Yona-hime had witnessed King Il’s murder, and seen his murderer, making it unsafe in the castle.

“He knows I’m alive, and I’m his Heir Apparent until he marries and sires a child. So if the need arises, you can tell him. But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

* * *

“It must be kinda strange, sleeping without either of your guys.” Lili commented, lending Kaya and Yona both robes for the night. “Hopefully they don’t mope too much.”

“Would this be what’s called a ‘sleepover’?” Kaya asked. “Too much time’s passed since I was a little girl for me to remember very well, but I don’t think there were many other children, let alone girls, where I lived, before I got sick.”

“I think so. After Mother died, Su-won would hold my hand until I fell asleep, only he’d fall asleep too. And when us and Hak all had a cold, we pulled our futons together and huddle under our quilts.” Yona remembered wistfully, climbing into bed with Lili and Kaya. “If only that time had meant as much to him as it had to us. And he was the one to wish we could have stayed in bed with a cold forever.”

“…it sounds like you miss him.” Lili tentatively ventured.

“I do. I think Hak does too. I just…I find myself wondering how genuine any feelings he had for either of us really was, calmly taking part in games and parties and such, knowing that soon he would turn our lives upside down. Even if I hadn’t gone to Father’s room that night and discovered his crime…how could he have lived with that knowledge? But…I think part of Hak’s rage is because of the timing.” Yona admitted.

Kaya and Lili weren’t really sure what to say. “I’m sorry; I must repeat myself an awful lot, when it comes to Su-won.” Yona apologized.

“It’s alright, I mean, you wanted to marry him, and with what he’s done…” Lili trailed off, still unwilling to voice his crime.

“He’s not a bad person, not really.” Yona noted. “I know I should hate him, but…” Shaking her head as she trailed off, she rolled onto her side, quietly signaling the end of conversation.

“I know Hak will never forgive Su-won, no matter how great the praises of him grow. Because he trusted him, more than anyone else.” Yona added quietly.

“So…” Lili started awkwardly. “How ARE you alive again? I mean, you feel alive…” She poked Kaya’s shoulder, showing her point.

Kaya flushed. “There’s not a lot I can really say, but Zeno’s power is evenly spread throughout his body, unlike the others, whose power is concentrated where it’s expressed. Since it’s equally distributed…he was sharing it with me, even though we hadn’t realized it at the time. So, once a threshold was hit…”

“…are you saying you were brought back to life with sex?” Lili asked flatly.

“Well…that IS what creates life to start with…and Zeno’s power heals him, and there’s no trace that I ever had consumption…” Lili was worried that if Kaya turned any redder, she might faint.

“Does it feel better?” Lili had to ask, remembering what Kaya had said in the hot spring.

.A very satisfied smile appeared on Kaya’s face. “How old are the two of you anyway?” Lili asked.  
Kaya hummed. “Well, I was twenty two when I died, and Zeno was one hundred, but he’s never aged since he was seventeen, and I really didn’t either, so physically we’re both seventeen, basically…it doesn’t work to tell Zeno to act his age, because he’s either acting around his physical age, or he’d be doing nothing, since by count of years he’d be bones.”

* * *

The next morning, Ayura and Tetora exchanged knowing smirks at the satisfied appearances of Zeno and Kaya. “So in Tousui today and tonight, there’s their annual festival to the Water God. There’ll be food and fireworks and the whole town will be celebrating.” Lili told Yona and her dragons as they set out.

“They’ll likely take advantage of the festival to kidnap people. Between the noise of the fireworks and the crowds, plus the wine flowing…” Yona commented, a touch worried to learn this. “So everyone be careful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I might cover the same things about Su-won with the same characters multiple time, so I'm sorry if I'm repeating myself. 
> 
> Warning: The couple chapters, until the forts are dealt with, are Kaya-focused. I'm sorry if that bothers people, but I have a chance to explore with Kaya alone, and I may or may not be setting up a love interest... (horned halo).

**Author's Note:**

> Haven't been in a mood to write on this. Been in a mood in general, between my seventh Christmas in retail, lack of a new job, and still no new department manager going into inventory. Further evidence provided by my latest story; Shift.


End file.
